The present invention relates to a packet for articles of elongated shape.
In particular, a packet according to the present invention is designed to contain a group of tobacco products consisting in cigarettes, cigars or the like, to which reference will be made throughout the specification that follows albeit implying no limitation in scope; such a packet can be either of the soft type, or the rigid type with a hinged lid.
The word xe2x80x9ccigarettesxe2x80x9d is used in the course of the specification to indicate an individual article or tobacco product, whilst the expression xe2x80x9cgroup of cigarettesxe2x80x9d is utilized to indicate a predetermined number of cigarettes constituting the contents of one packet and arranged in the same manner as when wrapped ultimately in the finished packet.
Generally speaking, the soft or xe2x80x98crushxe2x80x99 type of cigarette packet is substantially parallelepiped in appearance, with a predominating longitudinal axis disposed parallel to the longitudinal axes of the cigarettes, and comprises an inner wrapper usually of paper or metal foil fully enveloping a group of cigarettes, also an outer wrapper or label folded about the inner wrapper in such a way that the top face of this same inner wrapper remains exposed. Likewise, a cigarette packet of the rigid type with hinged lid appears substantially as a rectangular parallelepiped and comprises an outer wrapper of box-like embodiment fashioned as a container, with a relative lid hinged to the container. The outer wrapper accommodates an inner wrapper normally of paper or metal foil, entirely enveloping the group of cigarettes and identical in shape to the inner wrapper of the soft type of pack.
In particular, the present invention relates to a cigarette packet of the rigid type having a hinged lid, of which the container comprises a front, a back, two flanks, a bottom and a top, and presents an opening adjacent to one edge bordering the top, delimited by respective free edges cut in the top, front and back and by a transverse edge located on the flank contiguous to the opening, along which the lid is hinged.
More precisely, therefore, the invention relates to a particular cigarette packet of the rigid variety mentioned above in which, when the lid is rotated about the lateral edge afforded by one of the two flanks, the area of access afforded to the inside of the packet is notably smaller than that afforded by a traditional rigid packet having the lid hinged along a transverse edge afforded by the back of the relative container.
In the case of the aforementioned soft or crush type of packet, the area affording access to the contents is created by the smoker, who typically will tear open the inner wrapper by hand, removing a relatively small portion of the top adjoining one of the two flanks. Likewise in this instance, the area affording access to the inside of the packet is somewhat small.
Accordingly, it will be clear that as the single cigarettes are removed gradually from the packet, be it of. the soft type or the rigid type described above, the group breaks up and the cigarettes that remain inside the packet become noticeably looser, knocking one against the next, with the result that a significant quantity of tobacco filler is lost from the tips and the cigarettes themselves can be damaged on occasion not inconsiderably.
Furthermore, because the area affording access to the inside of the packet is relatively small, the cigarettes become more difficult to extract as they are taken out and smoked one by one, in as much as the cigarettes remaining inside the packet do not shift naturally toward the area of access and the smoker is forced to maneuver somewhat awkwardly in the attempt to seize and withdraw them.
Another drawback is attributable to the fact that the cigarettes remaining inside the packet tend naturally to fall sideways and therefore to assume an undesirable position, with their longitudinal axes skew in relation to the longitudinal axis of the packet and substantially parallel to a diagonal of the front and rear faces, so that the correct position of the group when assembled in full number is lost. This drawback in combination with that of the relatively small area affording access to the inside of the packet tends to make it even more difficult for the smoker to capture the remaining cigarettes, with the result that the cigarettes can be damaged still further, bending and even breaking completely. Obviously, in the attempt to lay hold on those cigarettes that have not shifted naturally into alignment with the opening, the aforementioned awkward maneuvers performed by the smoker will inevitably result in damage to the packet as well.
The object of the present invention is to provide a packet for a group of cigarettes or other tobacco products, internally of which the cigarettes stay ordered as they are removed gradually and consumed, and the cigarettes of the group remaining at any given moment are maintained in the same position as when wrapped initially, with neither the cigarettes nor the packet suffering damage, and from which the cigarettes can be removed conveniently and swiftly.
The stated object is realized according to the invention in a packet for a group of articles of elongated shape, substantially parallelepiped in. appearance with a predominating longitudinal axis disposed parallel to the longitudinal axes of the articles, comprising a front, a back, two flanks, a bottom and a top, of which at least the top is removable at least in part so as to provide an opening that coincides with an area affording access to the inside of the packet, the essential features of which are that it comprises tension means disposed internally of the packet, designed to generate a pushing force on the group such as will cause the group to shift toward the access area, and that the tension means are deformable elastically along at least one predetermined line or portion of elastic deformation.
The present invention relates also to a method of manufacturing a packet for groups of articles of elongated shape.
A method is disclosed by which to manufacture a packet for groups of articles of elongated shape, appearing substantially parallelepiped in shape with a predominating longitudinal axis disposed parallel to the longitudinal axes of the articles, comprising a front, a back, two flanks, a bottom and a top, of which at least the top is removable at least in part so as to provide an opening that coincides with an area affording access to the inside of the packet, and comprising at least one wrapper enveloping a group of the articles.
The method of manufacture in question comprises the steps of associating each group of articles with tension means deformable elastically along at least one predetermined line or portion of elastic deformation in such a way as to obtain a succession of assemblies each consisting in a relative group of articles together with respective elastically deformable tension means; enveloping each such assembly in at least one sheet of wrapping material constituting the wrapper; and in that the tension means serve to generate a pushing force on the group such as will cause the group to shift toward the access area.